New Boyd guy here

Finishing up orientation tomorrow, and will hit the road for my 5 weeks of training either Sunday or Monday depending on my trainers schedule. So far I am very happy at Boyd, and everyone has been really cool. I love the small family feel, and how they really have an open door policy and really involve the drivers in the inner workings of the company, and let you see how everything else functions. I'm in the Birmingham area, so I am really close to the terminal. very convenient for me. Anyway, glad to be aboard, and hope to see some of you Boyd drivers out on the road.

 

Thanks. Looking forward to it!

 

Just finished up the on the road training. Will be going to the terminal this upcoming week for load securement training, then hopefully I get my truck. Liking it all so far.

 

Well I'm a bit irritated and annoyed now. Got my truck assignment today. It just happened to be on the lot, so I went to look at it. Approaching it from a far it looked good. A ProStar, in blue, the color I wanted. Then I got closer and realized it was the older model with no side fairings/plastic over the tank/steps, not a big deal. Then I get closer and notice the front bumper is cracked in a few places and has a hole in the front, and the driver side is completely loose and flopping. Now I'm getting a bit irritated. I pop open the door and look in. Door panel is nasty with stains and ashes. Climb up and get a closer look. The driver seat is disgusting, the fabric is shiny were it has been matted down with sweat and oil. The rest of the interior is equally disgusting. The mattress is horribly nasty with stains, food bits and those little plastic handle, teeth flossing things laying all over it. I look up and notice the overhead light is hanging by wires where it has come loose from the head liner. Cup holders are full of ashes and sunflower seed shells. Now I'm getting furious. THEN, I notice the big bummer that has had me upset all afternoon... no shift lever coming from the floor... I just had to get stuck with one of the handful of automatics in the fleet that they are trying to get rid of. At this point in red in the face and so frustrated I feel like walking to my car and driving home.

I guess the only positive thought I can come up with, is I shouldn't have to keep it too long, since it's an early model truck, likely with at LEAST 350-400k miles, and is an auto, which they are trying to get rid of completely. If I find myself in this truck for more than a few months... I'm going to be very very not amused. I guess at least it's a truck and I can start getting pay checks, if it doesn't leave me broken down and stranded constantly.

 

It's not so bad I guess. Yesterday when I went in and told them about it, they then started the process of getting it ready for me, which should have already been done. Someone dropped the ball, somewhere. They told me to go home for the weekend and they would pay me for my down time, since it was their fault I couldn't hit the road and work. It needed to be jumped off because of the dead battery, then it needed a full inspection and full detail. So hopefully Monday when I go in, it will be in better shape, waiting for me to start running. And again, everyone I have talked to has said the same thing when I told them about the truck, which is "yeah, you shouldn't have to put up with that truck for long at all". So hopefully if all goes right, I should be in a new or almost new truck in the next few months. I can hold out for that long I guess.

 

Yeah, the ProStar jakes do suck. Most of our fleet is ProStar with EPU.